Reflections (at different times) on ecumenical or interfaith issues, theology, spirituality, ministry, the arts, politics, popular culture, or life in general ... occasionally, just some funny stuff.

Saturday, 17 August 2013

Generous Christianity

Many terms and labels are being tossed around these days to describe
those of us who identify ourselves as Christians, but who do not wish to
identify with a conservative style of Christian faith.

Traditionally, “liberal” was used to describe
Christians with a non-conservative approach to our faith.This term has been rendered useless for a
number of reasons, including:

the various contradictory and confusing ways the word “liberal” is used outside the area of theological discussion, particularly in politics,

the fact that the term “liberal” in Christian theology is a technical term used to describe a theological movement which flourished within the “Protestant” churches in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but which has not really existed as a vital contemporary theological movement since the middle of the 20th century, and

the fact that some evangelicals use “liberal” as a generalised term of abuse for any Christian who happens to be a “Protestant” but not an evangelical, regardless of the details of their theology.

In many “Protestant” churches, those of us who are non-conservative in
our faith are sometimes called “mainstream” or “ecumenical”.This does not do justice to the fact that
many conservative Christians (particularly conservatives found within the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic,
Anglo-Catholic, and Lutheran traditions) are well and truly members of the
Christian mainstream and enthusiastic participants in the ecumenical movement.

In recent years, “progressive” has been used to describe Christians with
a non-conservative approach to Christianity.This has become problematic given the way that “progressive” has increasingly been
used in some circles by people who identify with the Christian faith, but in a "minimalist" way (non-Incarnational,
non-Trinitarian, and even - in some cases - non-theistic).Many people who once may have described ourselves as "progressive Christians" now find ourselves ceasing to use this description so as to avoid confusion with those who take an overly minimalist approach to their faith. (I've personally stopped using the P-word a few years ago to describe myself.)I think the phrase “generous
Christianity” would be better language to express the alternative to a conservative
approach to the Christian faith. (And in adopting this usage, I express my appreciation of Brian McLaren's book A Generous Orthodoxy.)By “generous Christianity”, I do not wish to imply that Christians with a
non-conservative faith stance are, in any way, more personally generous as
individuals or communities than Christians of a conservative approach to their
faith (or, for that matter, any other individuals or communities).I merely express the viewpoint
that the alternative to a conservative theology is “generous theology”.

I see a number of dimensions as being aspects
of “generous Christianity”, with the following dimensions being crucial:

A. Generous Christianity includes a critical
approach to the study of the scriptures, including the recognition that many of
the stories which we read in scripture (i.e., the Creation, the Great Flood,
the story of Jonah, the Second Coming, etc.) make far greater
sense if we read them metaphorically rather than literally, and if we read them
within the historical context in which they were written rather than as
infallible oracles for today.

B. Generous Christianity includes a belief that the Christian faith today would be far
better off without:

any notion that human beings are born in “total depravity”,

any notion of “predestination”,

any notion that the crucifixion was a substitutionary blood sacrifice, and

any notion that
God will reject any person on the grounds of their beliefs (or the lack
thereof).

C. Generous Christianity includes a belief that
Christians need to regard people of other living faiths (Jews, Muslims, and
many others) not as potential Christians in need of conversion, but as people
who are already in a positive relationship with the living God in their present
faith communities.

D. Generous Christianity includes a belief that
the Christian Church, in all its ecumenical manifestations, is called by Christ
to be a deliberately inclusive community in terms of race, culture, gender,
sexual orientation, marital status, etc.E. Generous Christianity sees itself as being part of the same Christian faith as those with whom we differ on important issues relating to Christian faith, including conservative evangelicals, or other conservatives, or "progressive" minimalists.

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About Me

I grew up in the United States and have lived in Australia since 1980. I'm a retired (recycled?) minister in the Uniting Church in Australia. At various times, I've been a parish minister, ecumenical staffer, and hospital chaplain. Some of my interests include theology, liturgy, ecumenism, interfaith relations, history, politics, the arts, humour, and Christmas in popular culture. (I did my doctorate on Advent and Christmas as a "season of opportunity" for churches to relate to their communities.)